On Thursday, the same day that Chris Cornell announced the release of his second solo album, 'Carry On,' he also made official his departure from the rock supergroup Audioslave. The singer cited "irreversable personal differences" with bandmates Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, all of whom were previously in agitpop band Rage Against the Machine.

"I think at this point in my life I'm a person that probably shouldn't be in a band," Cornell told Spinner. "Someone that writes songs as much as me and has the energy and focus in terms of songwriting and performing is probably someone who's more akin to a solo artist than someone who should be in a band." Still, he admits to no regrets about his Audioslave tenure. "Audioslave was a great experience. We made three great records."

With that part of his life now behind him, Cornell is ready to move ahead with 'Carry On,' an album he says covers a wide array of styles, including heavy rockers like 'No Such Thing' and 'Poison Eye,' which evoke the sound of his previous band, Soundgarden. Cornell said he made a point of not writing any riff-rock songs in Audioslave or on his 1999 solo debut album, 'Euphoria Morning,' because he wrote his fair share while in Soundgarden. "But there's enough distance between now and Soundgarden's last record," he said to Spinner. "I got to really write some riff-oriented heavier songs, which I haven't done in a long time. It was exciting."